Rasmus Andersson traded to Golden Knights: Las Vegas ponies up to acquire top-four defenseman from Flames

The Golden Knights have a penchant for making waves on the trade market, and it appears as if they have set another in motion Sunday night. Las Vegas has acquired veteran defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames, dished out a nice return to secure the deal, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

As part of the Golden Knights' acquisition, the Flames have agreed to retain 50% of Andersson's $4.55 million contract. Las Vegas is sending back to Calgary a first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, a conditional 2027 second-round pick, defenseman Zach Whitecloud and defensive prospect Abram Weibe.

If the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season, the second-round pick will become a future first-round selection, per Friedman.

With Alex Pietrangelo out for the season due to a serious hip injury, the Golden Knights had a void in their top four. They've now filled that gap with one of the best options on the trade market.

The compensation sent over by Las Vegas is particularly significant considering Andersson is playing on the final year of his current contract and the deal did not include agreement on a contract extension. The Golden Knights have consequently surrendered premium future assets for a rental player. An extension could be announced anytime over the next few months, of course, but it's still a gamble on the part of general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who hasn't shied away from bold moves in the past.

The question now is whether Andersson was the right player on whom to gamble. There was a time when he was considered an underrated star on the back end, particularly when Darryl Sutter was behind the Flames' bench from 2020-23. Andersson posted solid five-on-five numbers, including a plus-31 goal differential, while also tallying 120 points in 217 games, per Natural Stat Trick.

However, since Ryan Huska took over in 2023-24, Andersson's numbers have tumbled. Part of that has to do with Sutter taking his elite defensive system with him when he left, and another part of it is the overall deterioration of the roster.

Still, the underlying metrics haven't been kind to Andersson recently.

With Huska leading the Flames, Andersson has a 48.1% expected goals share and a minus-24 goal differential at five-on-five. His offensive production has also taken a slight step back, too, with 100 points in 207 games.

The Golden Knights will try to get Andersson back into a strong defensive environment where shortcomings can be concealed while allowing him to showcase his offensive skillset. If they can get Andersson back to his 2022-23 form, no one will care about the acquisition cost.

As for the Flames, they're a team clearly in rebuild mode, and it seemed unlikely that Andersson would re-sign next summer. Securing a first-round pick (as well as a conditional second-round pick) without a sign-and-trade was probably fair value in this instance. Whitecloud is a solid depth defenseman, and Weibe is more of a long-term project.

This is a classic example of a trade that made plenty of sense for both sides. The Flames can load up on draft capital as they try to kickstart a rebuild, and the Golden Knights are focused on winning now as they gear up for what should be a gauntlet in the Western Conference playoffs.

Las Vegas currently has the second-best odds to win the West at +470, according to FanDuel; however, the Colorado Avalanche (+125) are the clear favorites, and the Edmonton Oilers (+500) aren't far behind.